Video games are certainly a convenient scapegoat for all the world's ills these days. Whether it's violence, temperament, or something more innocent that seems "wrong" about a child, many people are quick to blame gaming -- and simple facts (like whether or not the children in question actually play games, or what they play) hardly get in the way. The latest pointy finger of blame concerns the lowered reading skills and interest levels of British youth, and of course, if it's a problem, games must be the culprit, and of all the major consoles, regardless of the references to computers throughout the article, it's the Wii that gets the honor of being name-dropped as part of the problem.So what's the proof that games are at the heart of the falling reading skill levels? According to the Daily Mirror, "The 37 per cent of children in England who reported playing computer or video games for more than three hours a day constitutes one of the highest proportions among participating countries." So, despite any of the other factors mentioned in the article -- such as the fact that English students in the UK are less likely to be assigned reading homework than students in other countries, or the teachers who lambast that nation's "overloaded curriculum and testing system" -- clearly, the only problem is gaming, because kids are playing a lot of games.
More than half the article is concerned with the reasons why gaming shouldn't be blamed -- but does that change the headline or lead? No, of course not. Again, these are those pesky facts that get in the way of the convenient soundbites that shape both the media, and the public's understanding of the news of the world. Is it any surprise that kids might not be too into reading when it looks like even the reporters who are writing the news aren't doing much of a job of it?
If reading isn't being pushed in British schools, and children aren't expected to read at home, should we blame them for turning to something else to fill their hours? Chris Keates, of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, says no. "It is too easy to blame the distractions of computer games, mobile phones and children's access to TV. The simple fact is that too many children view reading as a chore rather than a pleasure." And many points in the article back that very simple idea up. Children aren't encouraged to read. Children aren't shown the benefits of reading. That has nothing to do with video games -- and when we're discussing, say, adventure games and brain games, video games may even encourage children to see learning and reading as fun. After all, many schools are finding ways to bring gaming into the classroom, and with great results. Rather than using gaming as a scapegoat, these school systems are finding new and innovative ways to utilize a popular hobby in aiding schoolchildren. Maybe if more people sought out real solutions, and we began to look at some of those problems identified by the teachers who are in the classroom, day after day, we could spend a little less time pointing fingers and a little more time actually teaching the world's children.
[Via Guardian's games blog]
